A Different Life
by gaangel96
Summary: What would have happened if Shizuka had taken both twins the night she killed the Kiryuu's? How would their lives have turned out?
1. Chapter 1

The cut sliced clean through the white haired hunters throat, a spray of blood squirting out of the artery and staining her snow colored dress. The man gurgles as he chocked on his own blood and he dropped down t to the floor convulsing. A strangled cry came from behind her as a woman rushed toward her fallen lover, gun aimed at his attacker. Though her reflexes were not fast enough as the vampire turned and in a flash was gone. The woman's eyes widened in shock. Suddenly her throat was grasped stiffly from behind. The hunter felt the vampires hair on her shoulder as she leaned in. Her voice was soft wisp like but behind the calm there was a deep burning malice. "Now you know how it feels to lose the person you love, but be grateful for I am merciful and you won't have to deal with your pain for long." Soft lips inched away from her ear and in a quick motion the hand that was holding her neck jerked to the left. The echoing snap resounded through put the room as the her neck bones gave way. From the door frame there came a gasp. The woman shifted her eyes to gaze into he doorway where a white haired child stood his small hands gripping the doorframe. His face was contorted n horror as he watched his mothers body drop to the ground as it was release. It hit the ground with a sickening thud and he shuddered at the sound. A smirk came to the vampires lips, my how similar he looked to the boy who had approached her for the prior week. This must be his twin Zero. There eyes locked as they assessed each other. Then the vampire made to take a step forward and the boy tensed. From next room came the sounds of thuds as if someone had been running down stairs. From the doorway opposite the one Zero cowered in came a boy identical to him. The boys eyes met the form of the female vampire in the room and a fill blown smile blossomed onto his face. "Shikuka-hime you came!" He rushed over to her and hugged her leg burying his face into the fabric of her dress about halfway up her thigh. "Thank you, thank you so much!" He closed his eyes and nuzzled her leg. A delicate hand came down to rest on his head stroking his silver locks. From the doorway came Zero's gasp as he watched his brother interact with his parents killer. She kneeled down so she was eye level with Ichriu. Her face creeping close to his a smile on her face full of compassion. "Why of course I did Ichriu, but you know I had my own reasons, you are just lucky that our goals were so similar." She leaned forward to kiss his forehead. "Stop, don't you touch my brother!" The sound of thudding foot steps came as Zero rushed with the intent to knock her away. She turned away just as her came within arms length and caught his blazing gaze within her own. A clouding feeling crept into Zero's mind and suddenly the room was a giant blur and his legs became uncoordinated crossing and tripping him. But he did not hit the floor instead he hit slim arms that cradled him and brought his body into a soft chest. Then all was dark for Zero as he fell into unconsciousness. Ichriu watched as lady Shizuka held his bother in her arms and stood up. He watched as she brushed the hair from his eyes and readjusted him so that his head was nested in the crook of her arm. She smiled down on him and then turned her smile on himself. "Did you pack everything you and your brother need?" He rapidly nodded his head up and down and clasped his hands in front of his face as he rocked in the soles of his feet. Then he darted out of the room and back up the stairs to his and Zero's shared bedroom. There on the bed was a leather rucksack he had packed earlier containing all he and Zero would need and that was worth taking with them. The bag was slung over his shoulder with one strap and as a second thought he grabbed his and his brother's winter coats which had been hanging on the back hook of their door. Then with the ruck sacks and coats he ran back down the stairs eager to leave his once oppressive home behind him. Lady Shizuka stood in the exact same spot with his brother. He put on his beige puffy winter coat and held out its match for Shizuka for Zero. She took the coat from him with one hand and them went over to the sofa located near their front door which was letting in cold air and snow from outside as Shizuka had broken the door off its hinges. It currently lay split in haft on the floor with splinters scattered around it. She set Zero down on the couch in a sitting positing and raised his left arm up maneuvering his arm into the hole of the coat and then did so with the other. After she had zipped up the zipper she turned to Ichriu who had the both backpack and coat on staring out the door. This time she lifted up Zero so he was sitting in her left arm with his arms around her neck and held out he right hand for Ichriu to take. He grasped her hand and then they headed out into the raging winter storm. It would not be until a week later that the scene of the kiryuu family was discovered by the hunter society when they had failed to show up at the association for work. By them the vampire and the two Kiryuu children were long gone.

They had wandered through the raging storm for what had to be an hour before they came across a cabin nestled in some pine trees. Ichriu toes and fingers had gone numb about half an hour before and he was freezing. His brother had continued in a state of unconsciousness. Shizuka opened the door and the inside of the cabin was dark but he Ichriu could make out in the darkness a couch and a braided rug on the floor and a large fireplace to their right. Shizuka made her way forward and lay his brother down on the sofa, then she reached into a basket that lay beside the bed and lay it over his bother. "Come Ichriu join your brother." He jumped a little as the kindling in the fireplace caught and illuminated the room obviously done by Shizuka. She then sat down leaning on the couch as her hand reached out to stroke his brothers locks. Ichriu moved forward to sit next to Shizuka and then nuzzled into her side. She flinched slightly it had been a long time since a children. The bravado her rage had given her earlier had worn off. Tentatively she reached out and wrapped her and around his body as she settled into her side eyes drifting closed from exhaustion. They sat there listing to the crackling of the fire until Ichriu drifted off to sleep. The sat there a twin on either side and thought of the strangeness of her situation. Never before had she cared for children. The only ones she had been around were nobles or other purebloods all with manners so in beaded into themselves that they were the epitome of politeness, and they never came near her cage just stared from a distance at her cage. These children she had already seen were different craving attention and love, and just the though brought a smile to her lips for she too needed attention. She had been lonely, depressed, and tormented for so long before she met he lover. He had been a human one of her sacrifices brought to her cage as her meal. Unlike the others though he did not cower and infect he glared. Never before had someone regarded her with any such form of defiance to their fate and thus she made the decision to talk to him. It turned out to be so far the best decision of her life as she quickly fell in love with him as he regarded her as a being and regularly came to talk to her, eventually they became lovers. Then Kiryuu's had taken from her most precious person and all at once she was alone again. She had vowed to get vengeance but she had never anticipated meeting Ichriu under the sakura tree. He had reminded her so much of herself not only in physical appearance but mentally. In his gaze that night she had seen striking depression and sadness that only seemed to go away when he spoke of his brother. The one person in his life that had always been there for him. He wanted his parents dead for neglecting him in favor of work for a parent should be there for their children not off somewhere else while he stayed home a state of constant sickness. When they knew his time was limited due to his weak body. They had chosen to disregard him and wait for his death without ever truly getting to know him and for that they would pay. Shizuka had been going for revenge and it was why she was here, it was just coincidence that they had the same goal, the death of the Kiryuu's. That had been the primary deal but as the week went on that goal changes. Each night Ichriu came to her tree and talked to her about his life and his brother, just talked. Just like the one person she had ever loved. By the end of the week she had began to feel compassion for the child and decided that she would take him with her after she killed his parents, if only for her own selfish reasons. The night prior she had told Ichriu of her intentions and Ichriu had been exuberant at first pulling her down into a hug. It had shocked her the full hearted joy of a child, but she had eased herself into the moment. The moment ended though when Ichriu pulled back and stared into her eyes. "But what about Zero I couldn't possibly leave him?" His eyes showed inner turmoil as he struggled with the thought of not being able to take his brother, how could he possible leave his brother alone. Shizuka though had solved his issue by simply stating that they would take zero with them. While she had said it as if it was so simple to conceive it wasn't in fact it made her extremely nervous. She had never been around more than one person constantly but in her mind she only saw one option to take the chance. She could handle it and also she would have two people to talk to. So this was how she ended up in this situation being nuzzled by a twin and sleeping next to another one. Then just like that watching the fire she drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up it was evening the next day 5:35 as the clock on the opposite wall stated. The fire had gone out while she was sleeping but both boys were still sleeping next to her. Yesterdays excitement must have really tired them out. Humans needed so much more than vampires especially a pureblood such as herself. She made to get up but in the action caused Ichriu to stir as he had been leaning on her arm. With drowsy eyes he looked up at her. "Go sleep with your brother on the couch." Groggily he climbed up onto the couch and cuddled his bother quickly falling back asleep. Humans she knew required food so she decided that she would go make breakfast hopefully the humans that lived here had left some food in the refrigerator form the scent of the house no one had been home for days so the family was most likely on a vacation. It was the whole reason this house had been chosen. The kitchen was modest by the entrance archway they was a round wooden table with four chairs and the cabinets were made of the same wood with forest colored counter tiles. The fridge was located on the far was next to a door which from the musky smell emitting form it she assumed led to some form of basement. She opened the fridge and was greeted with al sorts of products some meats vegetables and what appeared to be prepackaged meals which she quickly went for once eyeing the word directions. Having been raised in a cage she had never had to cook before especially being a vampire that survived off blood. According to the directions she had to cut the film and cook in the oven on 450 for an hour. Going over to the oven she was greeted with an array of different knobs but she managed to locate the one that contained the number she was looking for and turned it to 450. A small red light came on which she assumed meant the machine was on. She removed two meals from the boxes and cut the film and then opened the oven to place them in. It surprised her that the oven was not hot so she placed the trays on the rack above the pans and then went to crank the temperature up but relieved that it was on the highest setting so she left it alone. At 6:10 Ichriu awoke to a burning smell that was foul. He detangled himself from his still sleeping brother and made his way to where he assumed the kitchen was based on the strength of the oder. There by the stove was Shizuka kneeling down looking behind the stove trying to find where the stench was coming from and to he left was the counter that she had apparently ripped out of the wall to achieve her current position. Ichriu went over to the stove ad opened it quickly noticing that the pans were still in the oven he searched the drawers for some oven mits causing Shizuka to come over as he had apparently found the source of the smell. The oven mits were in the counter that she had ripped out and he used them to remove the pans from the oven and place them on top. "You can't leave the pans in the oven," he explained as he went over to the window to open it. From Shizuka's scrunched up nose as she stared at the foul bent pans it was quite obvious that she did not know much about cooking. He sat down in the a chair by the table Shizuka following his lead. "I do not know much about cooking." She confessed with a blank look on her face. "Thank you for trying though." He had noticed the two meals in the oven obviously for himself and Zero. A shy smile graced her lips from his praise. It was a peaceful moment until they heard a groan form the other room looked like Zero was awake.


	2. Chapter 2

Zero's POV

His head pounded likes some fiend had taken a jack hammer to his head. A groan escapes his lips as he moved his hand that had been dangling in the air to cover his eyes. The slight brightness stung. It was a constant throbbing. What had he done. As he tried to recall he was only met with the throbbing of his headache. He rolled to the side and noticed that he had been wrapped in a blanket and was most likely lying on a couch due to the segmented comfeyness. "Zero!" He heard a voice call, Ichiru's voice. A softy touch landed on his side and a hand cupped his face. "Brother how are you feeling?" Zero cracked open his eyes to see lavender eyes identical to his own fixated on his face, as his twin hovered over him. Ichiru's mouth was slightly open and eyebrows scrunched together in a state of worry. "My head hurts what's going on?" The hands on his cheek glided upwards to stroke his hair. "Why, nothing bad dear brother." Ichiru cooed with a gentle smile on his face. "In fact all our problems are over now." What was Ichiru saying, all their problems, what problems did they have? A flash of glistening silver drew his gaze from Ichiru to the doorway to his outmost left. He broke from the sleepy haze rapidly, eyes widening in terror. It all rushed back to him his parent's murder. His had snapped out and latched onto Ichiru's wrist pulling his brother down onto the couch so that he was sprawled out behind him. He pushed himself up on his elbow so that he was between the two. Shizuka Hio stood by the door head cocked to the side as she stood here. An angel in white except for the scarlet hem of her dress that swished against the floor at the slightest movement. "Get away from us leave!" The terror prevailed through his shouts as his voice shock, but she did not leave. She ever so slightly glanced up over his body to take a questioning look at his twin. Zero tired to puff his chest out to further shield his brother from the monster that stood before him. The hardwood panels creaked as Shizuka took a step forward. "I said get back!" Zero reached up onto the mantle of the fireplace next to him and flung a picture towards the approaching vampire. Not expecting the projectile she had did not move fast enough and the frame grazed her cheek drawing a thin line of blood in its wake. Her hand went to her cheek and came back with her palm tinged red. "Why you little beast." But no look of anger crossed her face. It was weird to think but to Zero she looked … sad. From behind him he felt Ichiru tense. He turned his head over his shoulder to see Ichiru looking at him with shock and bewilderment. "Zero have could you," Ichiru whispered staring straight into his eyes as if Zero had just committed some terrible wrong. "After all she's done for us." What? What had she done for them? Murdered their parents. " He steadied his gaze onto Ichiru's eyes. "Ichiru she murdered our parents, mom and dad are dead!" Ichiru shoved Zero hard on his chest which pushed Zero onto his side and then straddled his brother. His hands grasped the sides of Zero's face so that he could look directly into his brothers eyes. His eyes were blazing in fury. "She did us a favor, yes, she killed them Zero but they were terrible people!" "They deserved to die," he added for emphasis while he shoved Zero back into the couch. "They never treated me like you Zero you were the loved child I was just some sickly weakling to them, the child the never wanted." A broken sob broke from Ichiru's mouth as he one again pushed Zero down. "How could I be the son they wanted, I'm always slick and could never be a hunter you don't know what it was like!" Another shove and hot tears fell onto Zero's chest. "When you were home they at least acknowledged me but that was because you acknowledged me, as soon as you left I was ignored, no more goodnight kisses, no setting at the dinner table, it was as if I didn't exist. If I were to pass mom or dad in the hall they just stared forward as if I wasn't there, they didn't talk to me. In fact some days when you were gone training with Sensei they locked the door so that I could not leave the room. Ever wondered why the lock was on the outside!" By the end of his rant his arms had lost the strength to hold him up and he fell forward onto his brother's chest sobbing. He clenched at Zero's shirt as Zero's arms wrapped up to envelope him in a tight hug. "You were my only salvation Zero," his brother breathed out onto his chest a whisper barley audible muffled by Zero's shirt, but he heard it. It was impossible. His kind and loving mother who gave him kisses, read him stories, and cooked his favorite meals, and his father who always brought them home trinkets from his hunts. But it did make sense. He couldn't remember the last time Ichiru had been given a goodnight kiss while he was sent to bed. Those meals were always his favorite, not Ichiru's. Their mother always asked him what story he wanted to hear never Ichiru as she stroked his cheek. And their father always gave to toys to Zero he had just assumed that they were supposed to share. But thinking that they would lock Ichiru away… was it possible? Ichiru was so sincere but then again he had conspired with a monster… their savior…their condemnation. But Ichiru simply radiated unadultered emotion and Zero felt inclined to believe his brothers story. Be as it may though thinking of his parents deaths still stung. A veil of white hair drifted down to his left and he glanced up to see the vampire leaning down brushing a soothing hand down his brother's back. Zero tightened his arm's around his brother. The vampire noticed and glanced towards him. "I mean him no harm I'm just trying to comfort him." Her voice was so sincere and soothing, she either had to be a very good actress or she genuinely cared. He watched her hand glide up and down his brother's back as his sobs died down until his breathing evened out and he fell asleep. By that time the vampire had perched herself on the edge of the couch still stroking Ichiru. The weight of the revelations weighed hard on Zero's mind as his eyelids grew heavy. He fell asleep to the sight of a pureblood vampire comforting and caring for his brother. How could such a viscous being be so gentle. Maybe vampires were people too. The sun had fallen behind the horizon and with no lights on the brightest thing in the house was the huddle of fair silver haired beings as they occupied the sofa.

-Zero did not recall when he had fallen asleep but he woke to the quiet snores of his younger brother. From where he was he no longer see Shizuka in the darkness. Careful not to wake his brother Zero slightly pushed himself up onto his shoulders to gaze about the room. He was shocked to say the least to see the pureblood lying on the floor next to the sofa sound asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclamer: I own nothing.**

She looked so unguarded so vulnerable asleep. Nothing like the savage beast she had been when she tore out his mother's throat. It was shocking really. Ichiru shifted awake on his chest as he lay back down. He nuzzled Zero's chest and slowly cracked open one eye to gaze up at his brother.

"Zero are we okay?" His voice was soft and cautious. He was half expecting Zero to glare down upon him in rage to dare have insinuated that their _loving_ and _caring _parents could ever be so cruel, but he didn't. Instead Zero looked down to his brother with a gentle smile. For Zero already had forgiven his brother when faced with the evidence of the past proving Ichiru right. Their parents had never loved Ichiru only Zero.

"Yes, were fine Ichiru." Zero reached down to stroke his brother's hair. They stayed in the embrace until morning came and the vampire on the floor had begun to stir.

Shizuka woke to the sight of the twins cuddling together on the sofa. It was peaceful. For so long had the slight of silver bars been her first sight. Only recently had she been open to view other sights, and none more endearing then the one she was currently witnessing. She was content to just watch the moment but then one of their stomachs growled. "You must be hungry, she stated announcing her awakening to Zero and Ichiru.

Both twins jumped, startled by the sudden noise. They had not noticed the vampire wake up nor come to kneel beside the sofa. 'Apparently years of hunter training has done nothing to help with my sense of perception' Zero thought. Which was not true; in training he had excelled at any task Yagari had set up for him. But that was training where he was mentally prepared to deal with the situation. Zero had never been able to fully transfer his perception form training to normal living.

"Why yes we are Shizuka, and I thank you for your kindness yesterday, but maybe Zero should fix us breakfast!" Ichiru shouted exuberantly while he got himself up in a position so that he was straddling Zero on his hands and knees but was still able to directly face the pureblood. To Zero it seemed as if just being in the presence of the pureblood made Ichiru happy. Then Ichiru wheeled around to face Zero. "Wont you!"

Ichiru's face was lite up in a bright smile but from the slight twitch of his eyebrows Zero could tell he was pleading for him to. Zero turned to look at Shizuka a slight frown on his features. 'Vampire must be a terrible cook.'

"Of course I'm quite the terrible cook anyway." A smile broke the indifferent features of Shizuka features as she extended a hand out as if to lay it on the hand of Ichiru. She never made it that far though as Zero flinched any for her incoming hand jostling his twin. Zero may have forgiven Ichiru but he had certainty not completely forgiven Shizuka. In fact he was afraid of the vampire Ichiru hailed as his savior.

Seeing that she would not be able to touch Ichiru while he was so close to his twin Shizuka withdrew her hand and layed in down across her chest. She looked up towards Zero. 'It looks like his love is not so easily earned, I'll have to work on it.' Which was completely reasonable in her mind. She had done no favors for Zero all she had caused him was pain by murdering his parents. No reasonable person would be so ready to forgive such a grievous sin. He probably believed her to be some sick twisted being that had helped out his twin out of pure pity or to fulfill some savage bloodlust. He knew not her reasons.

Sensing the tension between the two Ichiru crawled off the couch and stood next to it offering his brother his hand. "Come on Zero I'll lead you to the kitchen!" He gave a warm smile in attempt to coax his brother to come with him.

Zero took Ichiru's hand and let his brother drag him to his feet. With one last weary glance at Shizuka he let himself be led from the room.

He had been dragged into a small kitchen that smelt terriablely. Someone had attempted to air the stench out by the looks of the open windows. "My god Ichiru what burnt!" Zero exclaimed while using his shirt sleeve to cover his nose.

Ichiru gave Zero a sheepish glance. "Shizuka tried to make us dinner but I don't think she knows how to cook all that well."

"No kidding, she must have never been near an oven in her life to screw it up this bad, it still stinks!"

"Don't talk so meanly about her Zero if she has truly never cooked before at least she tried." Ichiru retuned with some attitude. "She thought of us and figured we might be hungry after trudging through show for an hour or so!"

"Trudging through snow?" This was quite the revelation. Zero had assumed that they were far away from their home by now but if this were true there was a good chance the hunters would find them once they discovered the situation at their house. They couldn't be more then a few miles away.

"Yes through show and she carried you al the way here you should be grateful!" Ichiru's fury was only fueled when a smile formed on Zero's face. "You think this is a joke!"

Zero had been about to come back with the fact that she had murdered their parents but caught himself. Ichiru had no care for their parents and for good reason. Mentioning them in such a context would only bring his brother pain. So instead he asked, "Ichiru do you know when mom and dad's next assignment was?"

The bizarre question shocked Ichiru out of his rage. 'When there parents were due back at work what did that have to do with the argument?' "Thursday," he replied, "why?" He raised his left eye brow up in confusion not knowing where any of this was coming from.

The simile fell form Zero's face. Yesterday had been Saturday so it would be almost a week maybe more before anyone came to check in on the Kiryuu's. "Nothing, could you check to see what we have to work with?"

"Sure." Still confused by what had just happened Ichiru made his way over to the fridge and opened it to scan its contents. "We have eggs, some bacon, rye toast, a bunch of different vegetables and maybe apples." He ended questionably as he shifted around the contents of the fridge. "Yes apples, Oh, and flour we have flour." He then closed the fridge and made his way over to the tiny pantry. "Spices, olive oil, vinegar, cereal, pasta, sauce and soup." The family that lived here must have cleaned out the cabinets before they left or they didn't really cook.

"I guess we could have pasta and was there asparagus because I could season that." Zero contemplated rubbing his chin by the oven which still smelled rancid. "Really what did she do to the oven!" Zero open up the flap and to his horror there lay two extremely burnt meals. "Ichiru why didn't you throw these out!"

"What?"

Using an oven mit he had found on the counter Zero reached in and pulled out a heap of melted plastic and burnt food which he assumed to once haven been a TV dinner.

"Oh Shizuka must have never taken them out," he gazed sheepishly towards the oven, "at least she turned it off."

Zero too flabbergasted for words gaped at his brother, trying to picture the scene that must have occurred in the kitchen hours ago. A pureblood vampire cooking how absurd. 'Oh what's the point.' Zero let out a sigh and made his way to the pantry looking for some spray on cooking spray. If he could find any well he could probably use the cooking spray.

As Zero cooked Ichiru seated himself at the table and only got up to retrieve whatever ingredient Zero needed. Steadily the smell of burnt food and plastic faded away and was replaced with the glorious smell of well made food.

"Ichiru could you please set the table and get drinks water preferably."

"Of course," Ichiru replied and then went to find the table settings. He remembered seeing a china cabinet near the entrance to the home a strange place to keep their plates but to each his own. The house itself was very scattered with weird furniture in each room like the random mirror he had seen earlier on the middle platform of the foyer stair case. 'Maybe they're going to be doing renovations.' In the china cabinet he found settings for three and went with the fine china after all who could tell him no besides it was pretty. He could see his reflection in a spoon as he held it to his face. While Zero put the final preparations on their meal he set the table so that him and Zero sat at either side of Shizuka. Both she and Zero needed to warm up to each other.

Turning around Zero noticed that they're were three settings at the table. He quickly turned to glare at his brother. "Ichiru, she's a vampire she doesn't eat human food one of them should not pretend to be human, they're nothing but beasts craving for blood!" Ichiru seemed to shrink under his brothers gaze bunching up into himself.

"But," he whimpered out.

"Zero you should not be so mean to your brother." Both twins jumped at the sound of Shizuka's voice and wiped around to see her standing in the doorway gazing at Zero. Zero shrunk back just as Ichiru had done moments before at the intense gaze being directed at him. It seemed that the vampire had a habit of sneaking up on people. She moved forward towards Zero watching as he tensed up in fear and stopped when she was about 5 feet from him. She bend down, hands on her knees, so that they were eye level. "And why yes I do require blood as you so put it but I have no desire of causing either of you harm so you shouldn't fear my bite, as it will never come, I'll find other means of sustenance."

He speech petrified Zero in shock. The overwhelming presence Shizuka cast overpowering him. She had also stated that she had no intention to harm **them** which was shocking. While he had seen the genuine care Shizuka seemed to display towards his twin never had she made any indication of her intentions towards himself. Apparently she held him in higher stands then food just like his brother.

Shizuka then made her way over to the table and sat down in the center seat which Ichiru had pulled out at her approach. Her gaze returned to Zero. "And since you don't seem to know we vampires even a pureblood such as I still require sustenance." Her tone was soft as normal not at all force full but Zero could feel the slight edge it had. And what she had said was true almost her captors had never given her a home cooked meal, instead every once in a while she was given a strange meat to sustain her. It wasn't until the day she had seen one of hear meals bearing a black tribal tattoo and the meat she had eaten baring the same black inked pattern that she realized what she had been eating. The thought still made her tremor. It was a disgusting practice even for vampires that lived off blood.

Ichiru had sat down next to his brother gazing expectitivly. Zero under the schrunchitizing gaze returned to the stove and grabbed the nearest pain containing the fired asparagus and brought it over to the table. 'Damn I didn't make enough.' He dished out the food evenly though he still felt slight tempted to skimp the purebloods portion and then did the same with the spaghetti he had made.

Zero sat in his chair sunnley he would have protested but the look Ichiru was giving him left no room for argument so he simply scowled at his vegetables playing around them with his fork. Ichiru eagerly dug into his small meat making quick work. Shizuka hesitantly raised a fork to her mouth which held a skewered piece of green food. She took a bite and her taste buds exploded there was something exquized about food she decided as she began to eat in bliss. It did nothing to curb her hunger as she still longed for the sweet red nectar and felt a slight burn in the back of her throat but she began to feel satisfied as if she were not quite so empty. As she neared the end of her meal the silence began to get to her after living in silence for so long she yearned for a noise. Setting her silverware down she cleared her throat catching the attention of the twins. "Earlier I searched the rooms for some suitable sleeping quarters and have found us places to sleep. There are three bedrooms upstairs. Come I'll show you." She stood up expecting to lead the twins to their newly found accommodations but was stopped by a slight tug on her white kimono sleeve.

"Shizuka we have to clean up the dishes." It was a perplexing though to clean up her food most of the time she feed from a victim the body had been left in her cell for hours sometimes all-day. She watched as the twins gathered the plates and brought them to the sink where they were cleaned. It was strange. When they were done Shizuka lead them up the stairs to their bed rooms. She stopped at the first door which contained a simple bedroom with a blue color scheme and dark cherry wood. It had a twin bed draped in three quilts, a large woven rug taking up most of the floor and had a dresser on the far wall.

"This shall be Ichiru's room." She made to leave but was stopped by Zero's snarky comment.

"My brother and I have always shared a bed and that's not going to change." He scowled and crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. A shard elbow in his side form Ichiru hurt his arm. "What," he hissed.

Shizuka still facing the twins simply nodded her head. "Why of course." Zero didn't know why but he was disappointed at her lack of comeback. It is that much harder to fight with someone when they do not respond.

"I will be sleeping in that room." Shizuka pointed across the hall to the door diagonally to their left.

"Fine," Zero huffed still rebuffed about the lack of response and grabbed his twin made his way back down the stairs to sit by the fire which had been rekindled probably within the past hour by the vampire. Unfortunately for him Shizuka followed and took a seat on the couch they had slept on earlier. After a while Shizuka started up a chat with Ichiru which Zero tuned out for the most part but watching fire could only stay entertaining for a little while. He made his way over to the book shelf were some boxes looked promisingly like board games and he was in luck. There on the shelf was : monopoly, dominoes, cards, and clue. He brought them all over to the floor intending to play with Ichiru who upon sight of the games made a beeline towards Zero.

"Monopoly yes we have to pay!" Ichiru enthusized while grabbing the game off the top of the pile and proceeding to set up the board. Zero set the games down on the floor then snagged the spot across form Ichiru.

He picked up the tiny metal boat. "I'm the boat and you'll be the wheelbarrow like always, right?" Zero had a slight smile on his face monopoly was kind of common game they played when their parents were out on missions. Their parents. Just thinking about them caused Zero's heart to ache and he brought his hand up to his chest to clutch the spot.

Ichiru upon noticing the shoe snatched it up and held it out to Shizuka. "You can be the shoe?"

At the unexpected gesture the vampires eyes blinked as she stared at the metal object being presented to her. "What?" she asked slightly dumbfounded.

"Come on well teach you how to play!" Ichiru grabbed Shizuka's arm and she allowed herself to be dragged down to the floor. The movement broke Zero out of his inner pain and refocused him on reality.

"What is she doing here?" He growled out.

"She's here because _she's_ going to play," Ichiru snapped back.

"But this is our game we always play when mo.." Seeing the flash of pain in his brother's eyes and the way he pressed himself gently into the side of the vampire next to him made Zero stop dead in his tracks. He had mentioned them, and by the look of his brother he swore never to mention them to him ever again. Shizuka was shocked at the child resting on her side begging for comfort and was genuinely confused of how she should act in the situation. So she did what her lover had once done and tentatively wrapped her arm around Ichiru's shoulders. It seemed to be the right thing to do as she felt him lean more of his weight into her side.

It was in that moment that Zero realized that he would have to compromise and destroy their once tradition of monopoly for the sake of Ichiru. Taking a deep breath Zero leaned forward only tensing in slightly as he moved closer to Shizuka and rested his hand on his brother's knee. Ichiru looked up towards Zero. With a smile Zero gently squeezed his brother's knee. "She can play Ichiru, she can play after all its only a game." A wide smile broke cross Ichiru's face of genuine happiness. But a soft smile broke out on Shizuka's at the sight of the twins.

The next few hours after the slightly stressful time of teaching Shizuka how to play and every once in a while passed and two his surprise Zero actually found himself enjoying the game. Every one in a while he even laughed. It was extremely ironic an unexpected when Shizuka managed to bankrupt the both of them by buying an entire side of the board which contained the Boardwalk. After completing the game which was surprising because Monopoly was one of those games that never ended, they decided to move on to dominoes. Zero didn't even complain as he was in such a good mood. Together they made a giant line which circumnavigated the couch numerous lamps a grandfather clock and went into the kitchen. They even had Shizuka pull out the fridge so they could made it kind of like of tunnel.

After they had layed down the last domino Ichiru smirked towards his brother. "First one their gets to knock it down!" Together they took off sprinting and giggling Shizuka even saw Zero catapult himself over the sofa to get there. She also saw the trail of dominos begin to fall knocked over by the vibrations made by there running. She watched as the dominos fell down one by one wrapping themselves around furniture and herself until she heard the twin disappointing aww's. She looked through the door way to see both twins by the first domino watching the trail of falling dominoes and couldn't help but smile. There looks of disappointment were priceless and extremely adorable. Ichiru though quickly took advantage of the sudden distraction and knocked down the first domino watching as it took down the remaining dominos in the area.

"Hey! I was here first." Zero snapped at his brother.

With a shrug of his shoulders Ichiru bent down and began to shovel dominos back into the box. "You snooze you loose." Suddenly all the domino's began to rattle and then flew in the air towards the twins. They both screeched flinching back and closing their eyes. All that came through was the clattering of glass on grass and the soft thud of metal. After nothing came they both opened their eyes to see the box of dominos full and not a trace of them in the room. Ichiru held the box slightly shaking.

"I just thought I'd help," stated Shizuka in her normal mannered fashion. They both turned to face Shizuka and let out some nervous laughter which made her such up her eyebrows in confusion. 'What was so funny?' "We should be getting to bed," she stated pointing to the window where the faint light of sunrise was beginning to creep in.

At this both twins were about to protest but they felt exhausted all of a sudden, it was as if all the stress they had recently experienced hit them at once and they simply nodded their heads. They watched as Shizuka moved to close the blinds in the kitchen and the one open window and they took it upon themselves to those closest to them.

Then they made there way upstairs and to bed. "Well I bid you goodnight." Shizuka curtsied but as she got up feel a large weight crash against her legs scent conforming it to be Ichiru. "Good night Shizuka!"

A warm feeling spread through her then and she patted Ichiru's head. Never before had she been told goodnight before only goodbye form one man. She looked expectitivly to Zero.

"Night," he grunted out then took Ichiru and dragged him into their bedroom. Still better then she had gotten most of her life she decided and she too entered her room.

-Shizuka closed the door behind herself with a soft click and then made her way over to the closet in search of night clothes. She had chosen the master for a reason for it was most likely where the materich of the house hold resided. After digging through some drawers she came across a long white night gown. Perfect. She traded her ceremonial kimono for the dress and as she let it drop to the floor she couldn't say she felt bad. In fact she felt free. Her captors had only given her kimono's to wear and wearing this dress made her feel so far away from her past. She made her way over to the vanity in the room and noticed a book on braiding lying next to a bowl of different hair accessories.

Why not. Braiding it turned out was not so bad and at the end she had all her hair in a slightly uneven Dutch braid. She looked in the mirror and loved what she saw, a woman different in appearance then that of the madly blooming princess. With such giddiness she made her way over the bed and flung herself down on it snuggling with glee into the covers. Today had brought her such glee just spending it with the twins. 'I hope every day is like this.' But she caught herself no once she earned the love of Zero too her days would be even better.

-Ichiru watched as Zero flung a heady quilt over the drape rack in an attempt to block out the sunlight. It worked pretty well though blocking out a good portion of light. Ichiru and Zero had found some jammas in the dresser obvious meant for a boy a little larger then themselves as they slightly hung off there bodies. Opening his arms up Ichriu beckoned Zero to bed. His twin smiled and flung himself up onto the bed before crawling under the covers. They snuggled up into each other arms entwine facing each other. Suddenly Zero giggled, "death by dominos?" Ichiru joined in. Overall to Ichiru the day had been a major success he had gotten Zero to hang out with Shizuka and no physical fighting had happened. More importantly his brother knew and accepted what he had been through and still loved him anyway. "Zero," Ichiru whispered, "night I loves you."

"You too Ichiru," Zero replied as Ichiru fell drifted off. Zero stared at the peaceful face of his twin. Ichiru was the most important thing to him and he liked the vampire…Shizuka. He guessed he would play along and not be too violent until the hunters came to rescue them. After all it would make his bother happy. He shifted so that he was facing the ceiling. 'Today was fun almost enough for him to consider that maybe Shizuka wasn't so bad a _person_, almost.' Then Zero too drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

With a light groan Zero rolled onto his side ad draped an arm over his eyes but the bright light from the window shone intensely straight onto his race. Realizing the futile nature of his struggle Zero cracked one eye open eyes dilating at the intense light shining on his face. Unraveling the blankets from his form Zero swung both legs over the edge on the bed and pushed himself to his feet. He crossed the room sluggishly using a hand to try to rub the sleep from his eyes. The light was coming from a small opening that had formed where the blanket he had pinned up had sagged towards the top. Climbing up onto the chair he had left by the window Zero grabbed the end of the blanket and prepared to tuck it back in. Outside the sun shone bright but off in the distance over the never-ending snow covered pined there were storm clouds preparing to cover the land in a fresh blanket of white. A storm was approaching. While he would normally feel welcoming of the sun's presence after a long night Zero was exhausted and wanted nothing to do with its brightness. He tucked the blanket back in and then with as much grace as he could muster jumped off the chair landing with a light thump as his socks absorbed most of the impact. Climbing back into bed and resituating so that he was facing Ichiru he closed his eyes and began to drift back to sleep.

The light squeak of and unoiled door hinge followed and a gentle click of a door closing halted him from his return to sleep. Soft padding of feet in the hallway followed. As silently as he could Zero crept to the door and with the twist of the door knob he cracked open the door. The hallway was empty but he could hear the thumping of someone moving quickly down the stairs. He chased after clamoring down the stairs. No one was there. A gust of cold air hit him gusted in from his left in the direction of the foyer. Zero ran and gripping the archway swung himself into the foyer and reached open the front door. There standing out in a blizzard of snow stood Shizuka in a white night gown that was billowing in the harsh winds. Her hair was drawn up into a braid but her fashion was not what was most shocking about her attire. No it was the glowing red eyes that bore into his own sending a shiver of fright down his spine. His hand gripped the doorknob tighter eyes widening in fear. They stood there for a moment just gazing at each other not blinking. Zero though was only human and could only go for so long against instinct. He blinked his eyes to moisten then and when he opened them she was gone. It happened so fast it was so confusing. 'I wonder if she was even there at all.' But the red glint of her eyes remained in his mind the showings of a hungry vampire. After a while the cold reached his bones and he could stand it no longer. He shut the door and made his way back to his room back to Ichiru.

It was night fall when she returned to the house eyes lavender with a sated appetite. The area the Kiryuu family lived in was quite rural situated miles away from the nearest city. The small town they lived in was home to coal miners, lumberjacks and their family's. A few miles from the Kiryuu family home there was a small town which contained only a tavern, a tailor, a shoe maker, an auto shop, a handmade toy store, a small home owned grocery store, the sheriff's office, a diner, and a small white school house that fit twenty at most. The only people who lived in the town were the tavern owners the miners and the Kiryuu's had all lived miles from the town in small cottages they had built. The Kiryuu family had been wealthy compared to most of the townies and had the most modern house around they even had electricity and a small TV that got a few channels. Shizuka had simply found the nearest cabin and samples its contents totaling in a family of three dead. She knew that it was dangerous to hunt in a town as small as this where everyone knew everyone. The Kiryuu's even would cause her some problems. While it was known that the parents were often away on business both twins attended school in the town. She knew this because she had met up with Ichiru when he had been on his way home from school. At most she had a few days before people began to become suspicious. While she had never been allowed outside of her cage her room had had a television as the age became more modern and before that she had been provided with many novels. It wasn't that she was ignorant it was just she had not experienced much herself.

As she made her way into the home she was greeted with a warm hug from Ichiru and a cautious stare from Zero. The 'day' passed relatively fast as the twins and her once again played game and chatted they talked together everyone in a while Ichiru would look to her encouraging Shizuka to have a say. At which point she would add in a her own two cents. When Zero prepared them lunch and dinner Shizuka sat at the table yet watched intensively at Zero as he prepared their meals. She was determined to grasp the basics of cooking. After dinner the twins had tired of her games and Ichiru had scanned the shelves for anything to read. They found a book on fairytales and took to that. Shizuka simply lounged across the couch and listened as Zero and Ichiru took turns reading stories. Never before had she heard such funny tales as 'stories' her novels had never been quite so particular or magical, and were often historical tales or works of great authors such as Shakeshere. The whimsical tales enchanted her, red ridding hood and the wolf, a cat in boots, a princess who slept on a pea. After a while the twins tired of reading and all three made their way to bed as dawn approached.

- The next day days in a similar fashion with Shizuka gone in the morning to feed and the three of them spending the day together. By the third day things had changed. As Shizuka made her way through the forest she noticed a distinct lack of activity in the people. There were no children out in the pines playing instead they played close to their families. The adults had a close eye on there child. They had realized that something was going on. That day after the twins had once again failed to show up at school their teacher had made her way over to the Kiryuu's house and discovered the gruesome scene. The town had been rallied in a meeting and when seven other members of the community had failed to show up their homes had also been searched and their bloodless or savagely mutilated corpses found. Shizuka may only drank the blood of a single person each day the other deaths occurred because family and friends had tried to intervene and protect their loved ones. Shizuka had watched the entire scene unfold as the teacher came franticly driving into town.

Shizuka was out of time she needed a plan fast they could no stay no longer then tomorrow morning. No doubt the hunters had been notified but she had learned in her prior investigation of the Kiryuu's that the nearest headquarters was a days dive away in the city which contained the nearest airport. She had to act fast.

- Ichiru began to worry as night settled upon them. Shizuka was always back before sunset but that had been hours ago. He currently stood on his tip toes peers out the glass in the out onto the snow looking for any sigh of the pureblood. Zero on the other hand was beaming. 'She finally got board of us and now all we have to do is wait till Sensei comes and finds us!'

Zero's hopes were crushed as he watched Ichiru fling the front door open and throw his arms around the "missing" pureblood.

"Oh Shizuka I was getting anxious your always back by now!" Ichiru then took a step back with a bright smile on his face as he looked up at Shizuka. The grin quickly fell from his face as he looked up. Her gaze was far off and lips set in a fine line. It was as if her mind wasn't there although her body was. He grasped a portion of her dress and gave it a firm tug. It seemed to snap Shizuka out of her trance as she jumped slightly eyes widening. A rare feat for a creature such as herself to be surprised.

"Oh I'm sorry Ichiru, did you say something?" She gazed down onto his small form.

"Why yes Shizuka I was just welcoming you home your awfully late today." Ichiru dropped his gaze towards the floor by the end of his sentence. He dug a foot into the wood floor and swayed it around adorably. "Me and Zero were worried about you!" He turned a hopeful gaze towards his brother begging him silently to go along with him.

Zero had been about to vehemently rebuff Ichiru's claim but how could he possibly refuse the doe eyes looking at him. Letting out a sigh he turned his own gaze upwards to Shizuka so that their eyes met. "Yes _we_ were worried terribly."

A bright smile came to Shizuka's face. She was aware that Zero's words were forced. This was progress though she just had to make the emotion behind those words true.

The three returned to the living room where they made themselves comfortable. Apparently while she had been gone lunch had been made and a sandwich awaited her on a small table which she slowly ate. Even though she had feed that morning all the stress she had been under that morning had made her ravenous, not at all for blood though. Food it appeared was a comfort. She watched as the twins read the last few stories in the book of fairytales they had taken to. While she did enjoy the tales the book had held her mind was else where. She knew they need to leave in the morning but she had no idea where they would go. The town they were in now was certainty not safe. In fact all of Japan was not safe. The vampire council and hunter association scouring the country looking for her ware bouts. They needed to flee the country. But where to? As the evening pressed on Shizuka ravaged her mind searching for the answer. China wasn't an option the vampire society there held close ties to the Japanese. In fact most of Europe and the and the United States also held close ties with the Japanese weather it be vampire or hunter relations. Thus they were also not good options. Surely she had a bounty on her head at this point and based on the intensity of the search she had experienced before she disappeared of the radar for the time being it was no low price attached to her head.

While she had been pondering the possibilities the the twins hand finished their book on fairytales the twins had finished their book. After which the had sat for a few moments talking about what to do next. After games had been decided against Ichiru went to scour the bookshelf to see what else had caught his eye. Big books did not seem appealing at the moment he wanted to be able to finish the novel by the time they went to bed. A small brown letter book caught his eye it couldn't be far over 100 pages. Its spine though held no name so she pulled it down from the shelf to see the cover. It too did hot hold a name but had a beautifully embroidered cross. He opened the book to the first page where he was met with elegant writing but the text was hand written and appeared to be in English. It kept on getting more interesting so he brought it over to Shizuka in hopes that she could decipher its meaning.

A book was layed on her lap and it was this that one again brought Shizuka out of her trance. Ichiru stood beside the couch. "Shizuka can you read English?"

With a slight nod of her head she flipped open the cover and laughed lightly at Ichiru's ironic choice of novels. There in scripted bold letters lay the title of the novel _Dracula_.

At the light chuckle Zero turned his gaze to Shizuka. "What's so funny?"

Ignoring his abrasive tone noting Ichiru's head tilted in confusion she had decided to enlighten them on the irony of the novel. "This is the novel _Dracula_ surely you two understand the humor?"

"No." Both twins spoke at the same time.

This was quite an astounding discovery it was surprising to think that the children of vampire hunters one of which had already begun training and never heard of count Dracula one of the only actual accounts of a vampire sighting. Though it was widely thought of as fiction the novels main vampire had actually existed just not in the context of the story.

"Dracula is the account of a Transylvanian vampire as he hunts his pray to the English continent and falls in love with a woman by the name of Mina," she explained holding the book up to the twins. "The Count did actually exist and he was a vampire."

This caught Zero's attention. "But mom and dad told me that that book is completely fake yah he lived but he was very weak killed by killed by hunters in one blow when he was in France." Another true fact.

"True, but that is because he left Romania, there one is protected those vampires operate by a different set of rules the _old rules_…" Her answer had just come to her Romania specifically Transylvania.

"What do you mean?" Zero was truly intrigued by the concept of a vampire safe haven.

Considering the fact that they would soon be living there she decided it would be best to enlighten them on the culture. "Hunters have never successfully managed to infiltrate Romania the vampires there are simply too strong and to clever they still follow the clan system. The term level E does not exist simply fledgling and master. Fledging's live in their masters group and since they feed from their master most stay sane. Fighting a pack of vampires is much more difficult then fighting a lone vampire. Also the clan contains vampires of al "levels" from E to pureblood so it is not like exterminating a group of E's. They tend to make their homes in the mountains so they also have the advantage of landscape. The community is apparently close knit so if hunters attack well they don't deal with a single clan they have to fight the nehjboring community which can exist of hundreds of vampires."

At the sound of such a society Zero felt his hair prickle and he tried to shrink into himself. "But if it's the stronger way of living why don't all vampires adhere to the lifestyle?"

"It's founded on the ancient religion which is much grittier and had many more bloody and savage traditions, it's also an isolated society not much interaction with modern technology which is a drawback. Most vampires can not resist the draw of modern culture and a more structured society. Here if one kills another it is murder. There if one has a good enough reason that has not broken any traditions it's perfectly fine."

The culture shock had left the twins speechless and wide eyed.

Clearing her throat Shizuka caught their attention. "So shall we read?" Both twins gave weary nods.

The novel took two hours of so the finish and by the end everyone was exhausted. Shizuka ushered the twins up to stairs. "Get a good rest we have a long day tomorrow." A scene of foreboding passed through Zero's mind. What was happening tomorrow? Ichiru had the same though but it was simply confusion no bad thoughts.

-**Next chapter the escape, hunters, and a long journey!**

**Also I need a beta reader because as you can tell I'm not great at grammar and spelling so if you or a friend would like to help PM me!**


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